Singh calls early shots in Masters long game

The course may change but it seems the Masters never does. After four days in which the alterations to Augusta National were variously described as the end of golfing civilisation and the beginning of a bright new dawn, yesterday's first round bore a striking resemblance to countless other open days at this tournament down the ages: picturesque, fascinating and inconclusive.

At one stage, with all 90 players out on the course, the American Rocco Mediate headed the field on four under par; Tiger Woods was handily placed on one under par after 14 holes; Vijay Singh was five under after 17 and approximately two-thirds of the field played themselves out of contention. Peter Greenaway would have called the video highlights The Journeyman, The Favourite, His Rivals and the Others.

Only Ben Crenshaw, the 54-year-old former champion who shot a one-under 71, and Tom Lehman, who played on despite being the victim of a drive-by shooting late on Tuesday night, struck anything like an extraordinary note.

As for the controversial changes to the course itself, the verdict after one day would be described by a neutral as a score draw, although the tournament chairman Hootie Johnson, the principal target of the critics, is entitled to claim a moral victory.

Nick Faldo, one of the most strident critics of the decision to length six holes and narrow several fairways, shot a miserable 79 but was reluctant to blame Johnson or anyone else. "The course is very do-able - if you can do it. The problem was it is too difficult for me. I am not playing enough, it is simple as that. You need more confidence than I have for this place at the moment," he said after completing his round, before adding a forlorn afterthought. "Plus every time you miss a fairway with your driver you have 200 hundred yards left into the hole."

This proved a familiar refrain, not least on the 1st hole, where only five players managed a birdie, including Gary Player, who hit a three-wood second shot to 10 feet and holed the putt. Alas, others were not so fortunate, or rather, so skilful. Five players in a field of 90 started their day with a double bogey, while 30 took a bogey five, among them Luke Donald.

Off the course the Englishman has struck a confident figure recently but he cut a curiously indecisive one here as he set about the arduous task of turning the water of words into the fine wine of deed.

Indeed, he did not hit a shot of any note until the short par-four 3rd, when he feathered a wedge approach shot to 10 feet and rolled in the birdie putt. On the previous two holes he had somehow managed to find three bunkers - not a good average for a decent club golfer, never mind one with aspirations of winning the first major of the year.

Worse was to follow on the 240-yard par-three 4th which, amazingly, he overshot, hitting his ball into a swale at the back of the green, from where he could only scramble a miserable bogey. Another bogey at the 5th left him two over par.

A lesser talent, or weaker spirit , might have accepted this was not to be his day. Yet it says much for Donald that he hung in there and even gained a shot to par as he headed into the final stretch. Still, he had fallen six behind the earlier leaders - a significant gap, not least as the names in front were among the most recognisable.

Singh has been complaining about his game in recent months, suggesting that perhaps he spends too much indulging his appetite for hitting practice balls. He may be of a mind to reconsider this opinion after his opening round. Likewise, Retief Goosen played himself into contention, on two-under, while Woods conjured up his usual Augusta magic, not least on the 14th hole, where he holed his second shot for eagle. Only Phil Mickelson of the pre-tournament favourites stuttered in the opening exchanges, bogeying the 1st. But he quickly made it back to level par with a birdie at the next.

As for the European challenge, it was a familiar story of the vaguely heartening and downright depressing. Darren Clarke, who was out late alongside the 1998 Masters champion Mark O'Meara, eagled the par-five 2nd hole to go to two-under.

At the other end of spectrum, his fellow Irishman Paul McGinley had what he generously described as a horrendous day, although, like Faldo, he was not inclined to blame poor old Hootie. "I wouldn't call the course scary. the problem was the quality of my golf. This is a major championship, the ultimate test, and my golf wasn't good enough."